BYD is working intensively to reduce charging times for its electric vehicles and has developed its Blade Battery to do so. The Chinese manufacturer launched the second generation of the battery in March. When combined with a compatible dual-gun charging station, it is claimed to charge from 10 to 97 per cent in just nine minutes.
BYD also unveiled the matching charging station in March – the second generation of its Flash Charger. These T-shaped charging stations feature two charging cables, both of which can be connected to the same vehicle. A rail system enables the cables that hang from above to be moved easily, despite their considerable weight due to cooling requirements at a charging power of 1,500 kilowatts.
In contrast, installing such charging stations is said to be very simple. BYD CEO Wang said in an earlier statement that installing these stations is as simple as installing an air conditioning unit. BYD has developed a plug-and-play solution for the Flash Chargers that are installed as a “station within a station”. This means the Flash Chargers use their own energy storage systems to provide the extremely high charging power for short periods. Without this kind of buffer storage, these charging stations would overload the grid. These energy storage systems are charged on-site by the existing electrical infrastructure when no electric vehicle is charging. This approach allows BYD to expand its network of “Flash Chargers” without placing a significantly greater burden on the power grid than the current charging infrastructure.
